Today, it is not hard to find people talking about green living, but many people focus on conserving energy and while this is vital, it is just as important and maybe more so to conserve water.  People can live without electricity, but they cannot live without water.  Therefore, conserving water is living a green lifestyle.  You can do little things that make an impact on saving the planet from drying up.

First, take inventory of your faucets in your home and your toilets, if you have a leaky faucet or toilet, the water is literally being wasted and it can also cost you more in water bills when you have a leaky faucet.  Most leaky faucets just need a simple washer to stop the leak entirely.

Only run the washing machine when you have a full load.  When you wash small loads, you use more water than a full load does.  It also saves on electricity, so you are helping not only to conserve water, but you save on electricity costs.

Take shorter showers.  Everyone knows how great it feels in the cold winters to take those long hot showers, but taking long showers is literally water down the drain.  Even if you begin by shortening your shower by five minutes, that is several gallons of water saved.

Flushing your toilet uses a lot of water and it is the one item in the home that uses more water than anything else.  Obviously, you have to flush, but there are newer toilets today that are low-consumption and can save as much as 4 gallons of water per flush.  How many times per day does each family member flush on average?  Imagine saving 4 gallons for each flush, think about how much water you will have conserved in a year.

Do you live in a rainy area of the country?  If so, make good use of that rain water by using buckets or barrels to catch it, cover the barrels to keep the rain from evaporating and use the rain water for your plants or to water your lawn.  Plants and lawns love rain water and in a downpour you could collect several gallons of water.

Lastly, everyone washes their face and brushes their teeth and most people leave the tap water running while they are washing or brushing.  There is no reason for it other than it is a habit, so when you brush or wash your face, turn the tab off until you need it.  Do this for 21 days and it will become a habit, since this is the amount of days it takes to form a new habit.

In conclusion, the little things you do on a day to day basis can save many gallons of water and it adds up quickly.  Imagine if everyone conserved in the same way?  We would never have to worry about depleting the world’s water supply.